THE spike in Covid-19 cases in the country has reached a level that is worrying, with again more than 7,000 infections reported today, said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

In a statement, Ismail Sabri said Malaysia’s R-naught (infectivity rate) has increased to 1.21 compared to 0.8 recorded in mid-April.

“We are at the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The emergence of new variants, especially variants of concern (VOC) are something to worry about,” said Ismail Sabri.

Malaysia recorded 7,478 new Covid-19 cases today, surpassing its highest count of 7,289 yesterday, said director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Noor Hisham said the fresh cases brought the national caseload to 533,367.

This is the second consecutive day the daily case tally has passed the 7,000 mark.

Speaking further, Ismail Sabri said as of May 20, the Health Ministry recorded 1,966 clusters since the pandemic hit the country more than a year ago.

“528 clusters are still active and 1,438 have ended,” he said. – May 26, 2021.